Various types of cornices, corniceboards and top window treatments have enjoyed increasing popularity in recent years. Such top window treatments are frequently used with vertical or horizontal blinds, or with more conventional draperies, to create a variety of decorative effects.
More traditional cornices and corniceboards are formed of wood, covered with padding, and then encased in decorative fabric. Obviously such products are both time consuming and expensive to make, and difficult to mount due to their weight. Hence, some cornices have been designed which employ lighter materials. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,549 discloses a foam cornice body which is formed of slabs of foam material which are glued or otherwise fastened together, the foam then being covered with a decorative fabric. The cornice disclosed in this patent is then fastened to the wall with brackets.
It is also known to form a cornice body from a single piece of foam. This type of foam cornice typically has a flat back face and an arched front face and includes a cutout portion on the back face which engages with a standard "continental" curtain rod of the type which is flat and relatively wide. This type of foam body is first covered with a decorative fabric so that the fabric covers the front face and wraps partially around the back face so that the fabric is fixed in place when the rod is inserted into cutout portion. The advantage of this type of foam cornice is that the fabric covering may be changed as desired to coordinate with redecoration schemes.
However, the foam cornices of the prior art are not entirely satisfactory, in particular, it is difficult to position a piece of fabric around the foam body for maximum decorative effect and keep the fabric in position while the cornice is being installed onto the brackets. Furthermore, even though the fabric covering can be changed, the overall decorative effect cannot be varied.
There is a need for a foam cornice which may be easily mounted on existing curtain rod assemblies which is both easier to install, and which holds the fabric covering more firmly in place. There is also a need for such a window treatment which includes provisions for changing the overall decorative effect as the user desires. There is a particular need for such a window treatment which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture and install.